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“Protect Larson? No! Larson needs protection from me. If we want answers. There is only one person who can get them for us. Can get him to tell the truth, but my God, I have to prepare her for this. For what he did.”

“Who? Who are you talking about?” Leonardo probed.

“My Mom. Without her, he’ll never tell the truth. He will take everything to the grave. We deserve some fucking answers.”

“What if he doesn’t tell us the truth?”

“Hopefully, our grandmother will fill in some blanks.”

Leonardo looked confused. “You found our grandmother?”

“Yeah. My people found her.”

“My Mom would cry for her when she was having her darkest moments. I always assumed she was dead.”

Great, yet another mystery. Well, they had come this far. They were going to get to the bottom of it all. Then, somehow, he was going to make Larson pay.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I’M SUCH A BAD PERSON.

Ivy wasn’t sure whether to thank or throttle Leonardo. In the wake of the paternity results, their lives had unravelled slowly. It was as if Pandora’s box kept unfolding, revealing secret after secret, each more disturbing than the last. The room had been ripe with disgust, anger, and shock. Ivy had never been a fan of Larson’s. There was always an air of shadiness about him. It made her wary of him. Yet, she had never imagined him capable of being with an underaged girl.

It was interesting to watch how the news created a bond between the brothers. The ‘relationship’ between Larson and Concetta had equally disturbed both men. They now had a common enemy. Larson had hurt both their moms. They didn’t have all the facts, but in their mind nothing could justify Larson’s deplorable behaviour.

After Leonardo and Manny came to an agreement, Frank pulled her to the side and whispered, “heaven help us, the Wonder Twins are pairing up. I don’t think they will use their powers for good. Although, it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Larson has it coming.”

Ivy couldn’t agree more with Frank’s assessment. As they pursued their common goal, she hoped Manny would let go of his animosity towards Leonardo. Well, at least enough so he could let go of his vendetta. Despite Leonardo’s deplorable actions, Ivy believed he was sincere in his apology. However, it would be up to Manny to accept it. The way Ivy saw it, the true villain in this whole situation was Larson.

Besides finding out his father had an affair with a teenager, Manny had to tell his mom what he had learned. He would have preferred to gather more facts before telling her what he had found out. It wasn’t to be. Grace appeared in the foyer the moment they returned home.

“I am glad you two are back.” She welcomed them, giving them each a hug.

“Let’s all go to your office, and you can tell me how it went.”

He answered distractedly. “Mom, can we talk about it tomorrow?”

Confusion etched wrinkles on her forehead, changing her facial expression.

“Wait. Something is wrong. What is it?” Grace asked, cupping her son’s face. He patted her hands, then removed them.

Manny rubbed his face. “It’s just?—?”

“You weren’t able to tell him?” Grace probed.

“I told him. Okay Mom, let’s go talk in the office.” Manny took Ivy’s hand, and they all headed there. Once they took seats, her husband squeezed her hand, then let go.

“I told Leonardo Larson is our father.” Manny stopped and looked at Ivy. She could see he was struggling to discuss the details of his father’s affair with his Mom.

“Okay. He didn’t take it well?” Grace looked concerned. Probably for both her son and his brother. She was such a warm woman with a big heart.

“Leonardo accepted what I said about Larson being our biological father…” He cleared his throat before he continued. “…but it bothered him that Concetta was so young when she gave birth to us.”

Grace cocked her head to the side. “What? How young was she?”

“She was eighteen.”

Her mother-in-law let out a shaky breath. “Oh, my.”

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